Associated Press

No non-“separatist” candidates or parties were allowed to run in the election. The “separatist” war was a Russian creation. The AP story lends credence to the Kremlin’s “election” narrative, avoiding the fact that Donetsk and Luhansk governance functions under forcible Russian control.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky

A Russian nationalist firebrand who once called Ukraine an “artificial state” has taken to Russian state TV to once again question the authenticity of Russia's neighbor, repeating a narrative meant to deny the existence of an independent Ukrainian people or language.

Russian UK Embassy Twitter Account

The claim about informants is based on interviews with some politically important Russian expats in Britain. Neither the report that is cited, nor the newspaper shown in the tweet, are making the claim that half of Russians in Britain are informants.

RT

“Another familiar voice declaring a triumph over the Russian president in the midterms is William Browder, a US-born British investor shark, who reimagined himself as a brave human rights crusader after being accused of financial crimes in Russia. Browder celebrated a victory in a ‘proxy war in Orange County’, because ‘Putin minion’ Dana Rohrabacher failed in his reelection bid there. It’s really convenient when you can declare, with impunity, that people you disagree with are minions.”

Sergey Lavrov

Foreign Minister, Russia

“I will not guess how the results of these elections will affect the future of our relations… We firmly know that the internal political perturbations in the United States directly affect Washington's relations with Moscow, and our relations, our contacts, our partnership on global security issues that many countries of the world are waiting for, have become hostage to these internal political squabbles in America.”

The Russian foreign minister is correct that domestic political turmoil affects the U.S. administration’s foreign policy. However, U.S. political divisions are not the main reason for deteriorating relations between Washington and Moscow. Russia’s own actions damaged relations more.

Russian Ministry of Culture

"The film distribution certificate for the film ‘Hunter Killer’ was not issued due to the lack of a mark on the delivery of the film for permanent storage in the Russian Gosfilmofond [state film archive].”

Russia’s Ministry of Culture, backed by the Kremlin, cited a “bureaucratic issue” as the reason for pulling the movie. However, critics found the official excuse not plausible, claiming the real reason may have been that the movie depicted the Kremlin’s fears of a coup.

Talal Naji

Deputy General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

“We love and are proud of President Vladimir Putin, because he is a friend of Palestine and not only Palestine, but all the people who are seeking freedom. President Putin succeeded in restoring Russia’s authority in the international arena and forced all to respect Russia.”

Independent polls show trust and respect for Russia and its president has significantly decreased globally. Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, Russia has suppressed insurgencies in Chechnya and in Syria. Moscow has lost its membership or voting privileges in multiple international organizations.

Russian Embassy in the U.K. Twitter Account

Official social media account

“@MoD_Russia (Russian Ministry of Defense): #WhiteHelmets have started filming their ‘CW usage evidence’, this time in Aleppo province. Containers with poison gas, most likely chlorine, delivered to the area by terrorist groups they support.”

The photo comes from a video of White Helmet volunteers who were participating in the “Mannequin Challenge,” a viral internet video trend from 2016, in an attempt call attention to the situation in Syria. The organization later apologized for participating in the trend.